HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) Short Interest Update

HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 964,700 shares, a decrease of 6.3% from the March 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 134,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days. Approximately 13.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair upgraded HCI Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Compass Point upped their price target on HCI Group from $90.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on HCI Group from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of HCI Group in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

HCI Group Stock Up 1.4 %

HCI traded up $1.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.80. 88,290 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,918. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. HCI Group has a 12-month low of $48.08 and a 12-month high of $121.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.14.

HCI Group (NYSE:HCI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The insurance provider reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $1.81. The business had revenue of $162.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.09 million. HCI Group had a return on equity of 36.40% and a net margin of 14.35%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. Analysts predict that HCI Group will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. HCI Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCI Group

In other news, CEO Paresh Patel bought 500 shares of HCI Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $111.00 per share, for a total transaction of $55,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 349,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,794,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other HCI Group news, Director Sanjay Madhu sold 3,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.72, for a total transaction of $391,063.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 71,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,512,936.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paresh Patel bought 500 shares of HCI Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $111.00 per share, for a total transaction of $55,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 349,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,794,500. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 113,102 shares of company stock valued at $13,198,303 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 25.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCI Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in HCI Group by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in HCI Group by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,322,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in HCI Group by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in HCI Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 8,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in HCI Group by 112.7% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HCI Group

HCI Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty insurance, insurance management, reinsurance, real estate, and information technology businesses in Florida. It provides residential insurance products, such as homeowners, fire, flood, and wind-only insurance to homeowners, condominium owners, and tenants for properties, as well as offers reinsurance programs.